Potato Galette stuffed with smoked salmon and cream cheese

I really like these hash-brown-like potatoes!..work great with breakfast, lunch or dinner, and may be stuffed with anything your taste and imagination can come to.

Ingredients for a 9 in. potato galette:

1  large potato
1 green onion chopped separating the green from the white part.
some shredded smoke salmon
cream cheese
salt and pepper
vegetable oil

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Shred the potato and put it in a bowl with a tea towel or cheese cloth in it.

Cover the potato with water, do not let any piece be over the water, otherwise it will oxidize.

Let it stand for 15 min. and then squeeze all the water out of them.

Toss them generously with salt and pepper.

Heat a non-stick pan to medium heat and drizzle oil to cover the bottom. Throw half of the potatoes into the pan and form a "pancake".Press and wait until the bottom is golden browned.

Now flip it, help yourself by using a plate and an spatula. First put the plate over the pan

Then, with your right hand  holding the pan and your left hand over the plate, flip the whole thing. Now your hand with the plate , and the potato pancake, is on the bottom and the pan on top. Put the pan again on the stove and slide the galette again in the pan, helping yourself with the spatula, so the it browns on the other side.

When the other side is done, transfer this first galette to a cookie sheet and spread the cream cheese, the smoke salmon and the chopped white part of the green onion.

Cook the second galette the exact same way, when it is done on both sides, put it on top of the prepared galette with cheese and salmon.

Transfer to the oven for 10 min. and serve. It can be cut down as a pie or serve whole.

Glazed Pork Chops with Bok Choy and Brown Rice stuffed tomato

Ingredients:

4 center cut pork chops 1 in. thick
1 cup pomegranate juice
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon chilipaste
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 bok choy
1/4 pound cremini mushrooms
1 green onion.
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 cups cooked brown rice
4 small round tomaotes.
Salt and pepper
vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Preheat an oven proof pan on the stove at  medium high. If you don't have  one, put a cookie sheet on the oven while it is preheating,

Season the pork chops with salt and pepper, and when the pan is very hot , drizzle oil to cover the bottom and seared the pork chops on both sides until browned. Transfer the pan to the oven (or the chops to the cookie sheet) and let them be in there for 15 min.

Cut in half the bok choy and rinse under water. Pat dry. Heat another pan to medium  heat and throw in there the green onions, and the mushrooms. Let them softened a little and throw the  Bok choy. Wait for it to wilt and brown. Turn off the heat and drizzle the fish sauce.

Hollow the tomatoes and stuff them with the cooked rice. throw them in the oven for 10 min.

Check the pork chops, read the temp. in the thickest part of the chop, it should read 160 for well done.
Transfer them to a platter, cover with foil.

Mix the pomegranate juice, the soy sauce, sugar and chili paste.Put the pan again in the stove over medium high, throw the juice mixture and deglaze it (scrap the brown bits that are stuck in the pan). Now, stop moving it and let it reduce until it reach a syrupy thickness. Take the chops, transfer to the pan with the glaze, cover the chops with it and serve with a little on top as a sauce.

Now serve the bok choy with mushrooms, on top a chop  and enjoy!!

Herb Chicken Breast with white wine sauce

Today experiment involve chicken breast, herbs, green onions and a white sauce. The outcome was not as pretty as I would have aimed for, but it was worth the try.

The sauce was very good, i could have added more and more butter for a thicker consistency but stopped at a thinner one. It was still rich in flavor and less fattening.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breast bone-in skin-on
1 green onion , chopped the green part, reserve the white part
1 bunch of basil
1 bunch of marjoram
1 bunch of thyme
salt and pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup white wine
8 spoons of chilled butter

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 400F.

In a small sauce pan heat at medium high the white part of the green onion, half of the basil, half of the marjoram and half of the thyme. Let it reduce until there is very little liquid.

Mean while , prepare the chicken breasts.

Chopp the rest of the herbs and onion and mix them together.

Very carefully, separate the skin form the meat.

Season with salt and pepper in and out, top and  bottom.

Put  some half of the mix of herbs under the skin and "close it". Do this with each chicken breast.

Heat an oven proof pan (if you don't have one, preheat a cookie sheet in the oven). When it is very, very hot, that you can not stand to put your hand close to the bottom, cover it with vegetable oil and place each breast skin side down.

Let it stand 5 min. and when you can lift it  easily turn it , and let it sear for another 5 min. Transfer it to the oven, or the cookie sheet and let them roast for 20 min. per pound. The total time will depend on the  size of your chicken breasts.

Going back to the sauce, it should be reduced by more than half. I lacked of patience and  didn't waited enough, so please, wait!! it wont ruin the out come, but the sauce will be thicker.

Take out of the heat and add the cream and very slowly , with a continuous stir add spoon by spoon of butter, waiting between each for the previous to melt.  It will get thicker and thicker.

Using a colander, strain the liquid and discard the herbs and onion. Season and reserve.

Check the chicken for doneness and plate. Serve a full spoon of the sauce on the bottom of a plate and on top the chicken. Enjoy!

Asparagus and Tomato Frittata

I wanted to recreate a wonderful frittata that I had weeks ago at a local restaurant.  I am not a big fan of this dish, but that one was really good and I wanted to serve it at home. So the result of our first try was this.... cheesy, deliciousness , goodness!!

Ingredients:

half an onion chopped
10 asparagus, chopped
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1/2 red bell pepper chopped
2 Tomatoes, seedless chopped
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
4 eggs
1/2 cup. sharp cheddar shredded.
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese

Directions:

preheat oven to 350F. Grease with butter 2 au-gratin dishes or a medium baking dish. (Consider that this recipe is for two persons.)

On a skillet at medium high heat, throw a little vegetable oil , just to cover the bottom, and put the onions, asparagus, garlic, red pepper, and tomatoes  until the onions are translucent. Take out of the heat and reserve.

On a bowl , crack the eggs, whisk them with a fork, add the cheeses, the veggies and the cilantro. season with salt and pepper.

If using separate baking dishes , divide the mix between them. If using one, throw everything in it.

Put in the oven for around 20 to 30 min. Keep checking for doneness because every oven is different.

It is done when it is cooked all through and the top is golden brown.

My oven's heat is stronger on the back, so it browned more on that part. Next time I have to remmeber to rotate it!!

Everything in there, eggs, cheese and veggies!!..yumm!!

Fig and Goat cheese tartlets with balsamic syrup

For me this is dessert , for others it may be a savory tart or appetizer. Any way you define it , Figs, Goat cheese and balsamic... timeless, classic and heavenly.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. Sugar
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. honey
puff pastry sheets.
crumbled goat cheese
figs
butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Start the Balsamic syrup by heating 1 cup of balsamic vinegar, plus 2 tbsp. sugar and the honey. Let it heat at medium high until you have reach a thickness of chocolate sauce.

Prepare the puff pastry. I bought 5x5 puff pastry sheets, but you can work with what you find at store and just cut it down to the desired measurement. In this case I used 5 x 2.5 rectangles.

With a fork, punctuate a frame leaving half an inch aprox. as a border on the rectangle.

A little goat cheese inside....

And then slices of figs....

Sprinkle a little sugar and put a little dab of butter on top...

Arrange on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat and throw in  the oven at 350F for 15 min.

When they are done they are beautifully puffed and browned. The goat cheese melted and the figs sweet and softer. Wait for them to cool a little and drizzle a the balsamic syrup.

Chicken with cremini mushroom and sage sauce

I love chicken!!..it is versatile and always on hand. Goes with a million different flavors,  can be smoked, sweet and sour, salty, lemony, with herbs and sauces or fried , or poached. The options are endless and the limit your creativity.

Today, we had chicken thighs with a cremini mushroom and sage sauce, super easy and incredibly tasty!..as sides, just roasted brussel sprouts ( just cleaned and cut in half, toss with olive oil, salt, pepper,  oregano and rosemary, and thrown in an 400F oven for 15 - 20 min.) and stuffed red pepper with tricolore Quinoa with dried cranberries and caramelized pecans ( cook quinoa in chicken stock, when it is done, season with salt and pepper and add cranberries and pecans, stuff half of a red pepper  drizzle a little  olive oils on top, and throw in a 400F oven for 15 min.), delicious, and super healthy!!

Ingredients:

Flour, as needed
1.5 lb chicken thighs skin on
half an onion chopped
1 lb. sliced cremini mushrooms
2 tbs chopped sage
2 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper.
Vegetable oil. (I prefer grape seed or sunflower, but use any high temp. oil you prefer)

Directions:

Heat a stainless steel skillet with lid at medium high heat.
Pat dry the chicken and season well with salt and pepper. Season also the flour with salt and pepper.
Cover each piece of chicken with the flour and shake off the excess.

Drizzle the bottom of the pan with the oil and start browning each side of the chicken thighs. After each piece has browned, remove form the pan and reserve.

Next, throw the same pan  the mushrooms and leave them there until completely browned. Next goes the onions and let them get translucent. Add the chicken stock let it boil for a couple of minutes and add the chicken and half of the chopped sage. Put the lid on and let it simmer at low heat for aprox. 20 min. Check the chicken for doneness and remove the lid, let the liquid reduce to create a thick sauce.

You must check the amount of sauce in the pan, you do not want it to be reduced to nothing, just a thick creamy gravy, add the rest of the sage and serve.

Shirataki noodles with steak and pomegranate sauce

Shirataki noodles are a God's gift. They are tofu noodles that comes in the shape of fettucine, spaghetti or angel hair. The whole bag of 8 oz. contains just 40  cal. and 10  Fat Cal.  no cholesterol,  are gluten and sugar free. So that means you can load this with veggies and any protein you want, finish the whole plate by yourself and still don't feel guilty. The only thing you have to do with them is rinse them and toss them  with a  sauce and ingredients of your choice.

I have tried these with a tomato base sauce , as marinara, and truth is that they work better with  oriental sauces, think more asian food less italian when preparing these and you will have a pretty tasty good meal.

I always have a package in my fridge, because they are a good way out when you have leftovers of fish, chicken or beef. Today for lunch, I was alone (sniff,sniff!!) with 4oz. of leftover steak, and assorted veggies, and the base for a noodle sauce ( corn starch, soy sauce and sugar) and pomegranate juice. So trying to be creative,  the result, Shirataki noodles with steak and pomegranate sauce.  They were as good as any take-out or delivery and believe me they only took minutes to make, considering the steak was already done and the veggies may be eaten raw!!...very good, here we go!!

Ingredients for 1 entree plate (the pkg. says that it will be enough for two servings, honestly I can eat by myself the whole bag  if there is nothing to eat but this, I mean, no appetizers or sides) :

2 tsp. corn starch
2 tsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. chili paste
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 pomegranate juice
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. minced garlic
4 oz. Thinly sliced steak
assorted veggies, here I used snap peas, thinly slivered carrots, thinly sliced onions and cilantro
1 pkg. Shirataki  noodles (rinsed and drained)
vegetable oil

Directions:

Let a stainless steel skillet over medium high heat reach temp. to be very , very hot. Throw in enough oil to cover all the bottom.

Meanwhile mix the ingredients for the sauce, chili paste, garlic, sugar, soy sauce, pomegranate juice, fish sauce and corn starch. Taste, season and reserve.

Put in the onions, carrots, and snap peas.

Let them get soft and the onion translucent and add the steak slices.

Brown the meat , and add the noodles, previously rinsed and drained.

Toss it in with the veggies and meat and then add the sauce. Heat it until it reaches thickness, toss the cilantro and serve.